Zahid Maleque
Health Minister vows legal action in Napa deaths of two siblings
Health Minister Zahid Maleque on Sunday said legal actions will be taken if anyone is found guilty in the death of two children reportedly after taking Napa syrup in Ashuganj upazila of Brahmanbaria district.
The minister said this in an international convention and scientific seminar arranged by Bangladesh Society of medicine at the city's Bangbandhu International Convention Center.
“Already we have formed a committee to probe the incident. The Directorate General of Drug Administration (DGDA) and Health Service Department have also taken the necessary steps in this regard,” said Zahid.
Also read: Govt seeks WHO nod for vaccinating children aged 5 and above: Health Minister
On Thursday night, two siblings named Yasin Khan,7, and Morsalin Khan,5, died after taking Napa syrup at their home in Durgapur union in Ashuganj upazila of Brahmanbaria.
The parents of the children gave them the syrup as they were suffering from high fever. It was bought from a local ‘Ma Pharmacy’ owned by Main Uddin and the syrup had an expiry date mentioned till 2023.
The children were discharged after given primary medications at District Sadar Hospital. Yasin died on way home, and Morsalin after reaching home, the family said.
Also read: Govt has set up 16,000 Covid beds since the beginning of pandemic: Zahid Maleque
No plan yet to shut educational institutions: Health Minister
The government has no plan right now to shut educational institutions even though Covid-19 cases keep rising across the world, said Health Minister Zahid Maleque.
“Covid infections are on the rise in many countries but it is still under control in Bangladesh. The educational institutions are here and the government has no plan to close those now,” he said.
The Health Minister came up with the information while talking to reporters at a programme on distributing blankets among destitute people in Manikganj on Saturday.
The government has decided to operate public transport, including buses and trains at half of their capacities to contain the spread of Covid-19, he said adding, “The directives will come soon to enforce the decision.”
READ: New restrictions soon to fight off Covid: Health Minister
The government has taken some steps to stem the Covid-19 and the hospitals, nurses and physicians in the districts and upazilas have been kept ready to provide medical services, said Maleque.
Besides, the government decided to close shops and markets by 8 pm and not to allow unvaccinated people to take food at restaurants, he said.
Issuing a note of warning that people will be fined through mobile courts if found without masks, the minister said, “As the Covid-19 situation in the country is under control, the wheels of the economy are still moving and the production activities in factories are seen as normal. The students are able to attend their classes.”
Current booster effective against Omicron: Health Minister
Health Minister Zahid Maleque on Sunday said the booster dose of Covid-19 vaccine will work against the newly emerged variant Omicron.
“We’ve information that Omicron can largely be prevented by taking booster doses,” he said while inaugurating the trial administration of booster doses at Bangladesh College of Physicians and Surgeons (BCPS) in Mohakhali in the morning.
As the government has enough stock of vaccines, the decision to administer the third booster dose has been taken, said Minister Maleque.
“Anyone who has taken the first two doses of any Covid-19 vaccines is eligible to receive the Pfizer booster shot,” he said.
Read: Covid-19: Bangladesh rolls out booster dose in Dhaka
Above 60 senior citizens, patients with comorbidities and frontliners will get the booster shots on a priority basis, the minister said.
He said: “As per our plan to bring 70 per cent of the population under vaccination, we need to vaccinate 12 crore people by April, 2020.”
Booster doses to be rolled out on trial basis from Sunday: Health Minister
Covid-19 booster doses will be administered on trial basis from Sunday, said Health Minister Zahid Maleque.
However, the minister did not mention the time and vaccination center where the booster doses will be administered.
The minister said this at a Pitha-Puli festival in Manikganj on Friday.
Maleque said the government decided to administer booster doses to senior citizens aged above 60 and frontliners, including doctors, nurses, government officials and journalists, who got the two doses of vaccine six months ago.
He said that all the activities to administer booster doses are underway. “The Prime Minister also has given approval to start a booster dose.”
In this regard, steps to update the ‘Surokkha’ app are in progress. Besides, lists of those who are eligible for booster dose are being prepared, said the minister.
Read: Covid booster doses to start within 7-10 days: Minister
Zahid Maleque said seven crore people received the first dose and 4.5 crore people have been fully vaccinated so far in Bangladesh.
There is no shortage of covid vaccines in the country. Currently, seven lakh doses of Pfizer vaccines are in stock. In all, 4.45 crore doses of vaccine are in stock.
Two crore more doses of vaccine will arrive next month, the minister added.
On Wednesday, Zahid Maleque said at a programme while receiving 80 lakh doses of AstraZeneca vaccine donated by Japan and UK through the global COVAX facility that the drive to administer Covid-19 booster doses will be in the next seven to ten days.
On Monday, the Cabinet directed the authorities concerned, particularly the Health Minister and the National Technical Advisory Committee on Covid-19, to work on a precise guideline over the campaign of booster dose of Covid-19 vaccine in Bangladesh.
PM also instructed earlier the technical committee to work on a precise guideline over when the booster dose campaign needs to be started.
On Sunday, the National Technical Advisory Committee (NTAC) on Covid-19 recommended booster shots to the citizens above 60 and frontliners.
Read: National Committee recommends booster dose for above 60 citizens, frontliners
The senior citizens and frontliners who got the two doses of vaccine six months ago will get the booster dose, the NTAC recommended at a meeting.
It also suggested all to take steps to limit public gatherings, meetings and rallies to contain the spread of Omicron.
On December 9, the World Health Organization (WHO) said Omicron is now present in 57 countries and asked all countries to stay alert about the new variant.
A WHO panel named the Coronavirus variant ‘Omicron’ and classified it as a highly transmissible virus of concern, the same category that includes the predominant delta variant, which is still a scourge driving higher cases of sickness and death in Europe and parts of the USA.
Amid the growing concern over the new ‘Omicron’ variant of coronavirus, the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) suggested the implementation of 15 instructions to prevent the spread of the new variant and urged all concerned to take measures to enforce the instructions.
Health Minister criticizes BNP for not wearing mask at hunger strike
Health Minister Zahid Maleque on Sunday criticized BNP for not following health rules at their mass hunger strike programme demanding Khaleda Zia’s treatment abroad.
“They always criticize government actions but they themselves didn’t wear masks nor maintained social distance,” said Zahid Maleque in a programme held at a city hotel.
On Saturday, the minister mentioned, Bangladesh saw the long-awaited day of zero Covid-linked death, and said this has been possible with everyone's cooperation.
Read: BNP starts hunger strike seeking Khaleda’s treatment abroad
“A political programme attended by thousands of people without wearing masks, including leaders, members of the party, may trigger Covid infections,” he said.
Minister Maleque said two things are clear from this: that the Covid situation has been so efficiently handled by the government that they did not feel the necessity of wearing masks.
Read: Police foil BNP's hunger strike prog in Khulna
“Another point is they criticize the government but they are the ones who don't maintain the health guidelines, and that’s the matter of concern,” he said.
The minister urged journalists to highlight the importance of maintaining health guidelines at religious and social programmes.
7.5 crore people to be fully vaccinated by Jan: Health Minister
Health Minister Zahid Maleque on Saturday said the government will administer 6 crore more Covid-19 vaccine doses by January next across the country.
“So far, 9 crore vaccine doses have been administered and the government aims to administer 6 crore more doses by January next,” he said.
With the administering of 6 crore more vaccine doses, some 7.5 crore people of the country will fully be vaccinated, Zahid Maleque added.
Also read: Covid vaccines to be administered in all schools to vaccinate students
The minister said this at the inauguration programme of Bangabandhu Gold Cup Premier Division District Football League at Shaheed Miraj Tapan Stadium in Manikganj district town.
Missing files: Health Minister calls it “unexpected”
Health Minister Zahid Maleque on Tuesday said that it is unexpected that 17 files have gone missing from the health ministry and an investigation is going on to unearth the matter.
“We’re enraged at the incident. Legal steps have been taken and police are already investigating the matter. Further steps will be taken in this regard upon receiving the investigation report,” he said while talking to reporters after attending an event at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University.
Seventeen files of the Health Ministry have gone missing from its Health, Education and Family Welfare Division and it came to light on October 27. A general diary (GD) was registered with Shagbagh Police Station in this connection the following day.
Read: Missing Files: 3 more Health Ministry officials taken into custody
On October 30, the Health Ministry formed a three-member body to probe the incident.
50% of vaccination target can be met by December: Health Minister
Health Minister Zahid Maleque said on Wednesday that 50 per cent of the vaccination target can be achieved by December this year as Covid-19 jabs are arriving in the country as planned.
"We have already proven that it is possible to give 80 lakh doses of vaccine in a day if the health sector wants. So from now on, if three crore doses of vaccine arrive in the country every month as per the demand, we will be able to give them to the people," said the minister.
The minister stated this at a meeting on healthcare and development issues of the country organised by UHFPO, an organisation of Upazila Health Officers, at Hotel Intercontinental in the capital.
The minister said the country has also started inoculating school-going students between the ages of 12 and18 and gradually all the people of the country will be vaccinated.
The minister said even though Bangladesh itself has not produced any vaccine yet, the country now has almost all types of vaccines produced in the world.
Read: Japan to provide more vaccine doses through COVAX in Nov
"From now on, at least three crore doses of vaccine will come to the country every month," Zahid said. He also mentioned that the shipment of Chinese Sinopharm vaccines continues as per the agreement.
More vaccines have begun to arrive as per the agreement through the World Health Organization. Serum Institute of India has also started the export of Covishield vaccine.
Other vaccines including Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca under the COVAX facility have started to arrive in the country.
Referring to the opposition's criticism of the country's health sector, the health minister said that his ministry successfully dealt with dengue along with combating Covid-19. This has been appreciated internationally.
Besides, Bangladesh has ranked 26th in the world in tackling Covid pandemic in a recent survey conducted by Nippon in Japan, including Bloomberg and the World Health Organization, he said.
Prof ABM Khurshid Alam, Director General of Department of Health, Ebadul Karim MP, Managing Director of Beacon Pharmaceuticals, and Lokman Hossain Mia, Senior Secretary of Department of Health Services, were present among others at the meeting.
70-80% people to be vaccinated by March next: Minister
The government has geared up its nationwide vaccination drive to inoculate 70-80 percent people by March next, said Health Minister Zahid Maleque on Saturday.
“So far, 5 crore people have been vaccinated as the countrywide campaign is underway. Fifty percent people will be given the jabs by December and 70-80 percent by March next. We’ve already procured necessary vaccine jabs,” the minister said.
Zahid Maleque also announced a programme to bring children between 12-17 years of age under the vaccination programme soon.
Also read: Covid: Dhaka advocates an equal shot at recovery
He was speaking at a progamme arranged by district Puja Celebration Council in Sadar upazila, marking Durga Puja, the biggest religious festival of the Hindu community.
He urged the Hindu community to celebrate the festival maintaining health protocols.
Bangladesh opens its first one-stop TB service centre
Health Minister Zahid Maleque, US Ambassador to Bangladesh Earl R. Miller and United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Deputy Mission Director Randy Ali on Tuesday inaugurated the country’s first one-stop tuberculosis (TB) service centre in the city.
US investment helped transform Shyamoli TB hospital into state-of-the-art health facility to test, diagnose and treat all forms of tuberculosis (TB) under one roof.
With USAID support, the National TB Programme will open four more one-stop TB service centers across the country in the next several years.
The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare’s National TB Programme has transformed the 250-bed TB hospital in Shyamoli into the premier centre to treat TB by equipping the facility with state-of-the-art testing and laboratory equipment.
USAID’s Alliance for Combating TB project also trained a specialized pool of doctors to detect and diagnose the disease—especially multi-drug-resistant TB, and to provide safe and effective treatment for all forms of TB to patients on site.
As a result, TB patients no longer need referrals to travel to another facility and are able to begin treatment regimens quickly and more easily following their diagnosis—improving their chances of beating the disease.
“We’re pleased to open the doors to this impressive one-stop TB centre and help protect the lives of many who’re fighting this disease,” said Miller.
He said this is part of their shared vision between the United States and Bangladesh in helping people across this country strive for healthier and more prosperous lives for themselves and their families.
“Improving access to critical testing and treatment services for all forms of TB—especially multi-drug-resistant strains of the disease—will help Bangladesh cure many more people through timely treatment while preventing new infections,” said USAID Deputy Mission Director Randy Ali.
Over the past 10 years, the United States has invested more than $100 million to advance tuberculosis control efforts in Bangladesh and donated 72 GeneXpert rapid TB testing machines to increase detection and treatment rates, and put positive cases under immediate treatment.
Through USAID, the US government has provided more than $8 billion in development assistance to Bangladesh since its independence, said the US Embassy in Bangladesh.